the birth of a sociopath

Sometime
during
the spring
of
'84
I stole some
of Jonathan's
Star Wars
figures
and a
handful
of his
baseball
cards

He was
angry
when he
realized
they were
missing

He was
sure
Bobby Barrow
had
done
it

So
one day
soon after
we jumped
Bobby
on the
way home
from the
bus stop

I held him
down
while
Jonathan
kicked him
repeatedly
in the
stomach
and
face

Afterwards,
Jonathan
thanked me
for helping him
and told
me I was
his best
friend

I imagine
hell
will be
a warm
place